"Food Saver" food saving tips

[azslim]

I've sealed up soup, stew & chili with them. After you put it in fold up a paper towel an 1" to 1.5" wide and place at the top, hit the vacuum button and when you see the liquid hit the paper towel press the seal button. Works great for a hot meal on a cold day, throw one in my pack along with a canteen cup, build a fire and have a little hot chili while you are glassing.

 

Another tasty glassing treat is onion soup with minute rice & jerky, some of the Bear Mtn dried soup mixes (potato with a can of oysters makes a good lunch) and I just bought a couple gallon cans of Mtn House, will seal those up, just need enough for a canteen cup full and cheaper than the individual bags.

[Rag Horn]

I've sealed up soup, stew & chili with them. After you put it in fold up a paper towel an 1" to 1.5" wide and place at the top, hit the vacuum button and when you see the liquid hit the paper towel press the seal button. Works great for a hot meal on a cold day, throw one in my pack along with a canteen cup, build a fire and have a little hot chili while you are glassing.

 

Another tasty glassing treat is onion soup with minute rice & jerky, some of the Bear Mtn dried soup mixes (potato with a can of oysters makes a good lunch) and I just bought a couple gallon cans of Mtn House, will seal those up, just need enough for a canteen cup full and cheaper than the individual bags.

Sounds awesome. I do love me some good glassing treats. Thanks for the ideas.

[el diablo]

So I've been using a cheaper food saver vac. Kinda starts to give out when doin large amounts of meat. Have been wanting to get a bigger high end vac seal. Anyone gone that route and is it worth the $ or work any better and what do u use?

[bonecollector]

Just bought a food saver from costco.

 

Plan on premaking some meals for hunting. How do you guys reheat the meal? Boil the bag? Empty into something else and reheat?

[dmoto]

Just bought a food saver from costco.

 

Plan on premaking some meals for hunting. How do you guys reheat the meal? Boil the bag? Empty into something else and reheat?

Which one? This one?

 

https://www.costco.com/FoodSaver-FM5480-2-in-1-Food-Preservation-System.product.100310211.html

 

Reason I ask, is my 6 yr old Food Saver finally died and I ended up buying this one from Costco. Wasn't a fan of it at all. Difficult to use one hand to vacuum seal and I had to press down on the clear lid in order for it to vacuum properly. Ended up returning it and getting this one from Amazon. Found it to be much better plus it has a 12V adapter and it's the same price.

 

https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-GameSaver-Designed-Consecutive-GM710-000/dp/B016C4KJS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504808691&sr=8-1&keywords=foodsaver+big+game

 

As far as your question on reheat. Yes, I froze a ton of individual servings of venison stew. Then I just boil in the bag similar to sous vide reheat. Comes out great.

 

I use my foodsaver a few times a week for sous vide and freezing chicken, beef, pork shoulders, salmon, etc from grocery shopping. During hunting season or tuna season in CA, it's used much much more. So, having one that is reliable and easy to use without having to press on it to vacuum properly is a must for me.

[bonecollector]

 

Just bought a food saver from costco.

 

Plan on premaking some meals for hunting. How do you guys reheat the meal? Boil the bag? Empty into something else and reheat?

 

Which one? This one?

 

https://www.costco.com/FoodSaver-FM5480-2-in-1-Food-Preservation-System.product.100310211.html

 

Reason I ask, is my 6 yr old Food Saver finally died and I ended up buying this one from Costco. Wasn't a fan of it at all. Difficult to use one hand to vacuum seal and I had to press down on the clear lid in order for it to vacuum properly. Ended up returning it and getting this one from Amazon. Found it to be much better plus it has a 12V adapter and it's the same price.

 

https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-GameSaver-Designed-Consecutive-GM710-000/dp/B016C4KJS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504808691&sr=8-1&keywords=foodsaver+big+game

 

As far as your question on reheat. Yes, I froze a ton of individual servings of venison stew. Then I just boil in the bag similar to sous vide reheat. Comes out great.

 

I use my foodsaver a few times a week for sous vide and freezing chicken, beef, pork shoulders, salmon, etc from grocery shopping. During hunting season or tuna season in CA, it's used much much more. So, having one that is reliable and easy to use without having to press on it to vacuum properly is a must for me.

Yes that is the one I bought. I used to seal up a couple steaks just to try it out. Didn't seam to get all the air out as it had some bubbles left in it. First time user so not sure what to expect.

[stanley]

I've had a FoodSaver for several years. Primarily use it around hunting season....

 

You've gotten some good tips here. For sure, the point about moisture and/or wet food is important. The dryer the better, in my experience. Also the tip about freezing things first, then sealing. I made a big ol' batch of Green Chili on Monday with the trimmings & neck meat from my son's antelope (Fresh Hatch Chilis! Yum!). I basically have frozen portions of the green chili in 2 & 4 serving Tupperware type of containers. Sometime this week I will remove it from the container like a big chunk of ice, and vacuum seal it. Works great. Our hunting buddies will be loving it in deer camp this year.

 

As far as reheating, for me it depends. On the green chili for example, I'll simply take it out of the bag and slow thaw/heat in a sauce pan. For other items, full prepared meals, etc. the boil in the bag option works great!

 

Also, there are some quickie helper videos of tips & tricks on Youtube that you might check-out.

 

Good luck!!

 

S.

[stanley]

Antelope green chili and bacon-jalapeno dove wraps, frozen, sealed, and ready for deer camp this year!

 

 

[JohnSWA]

Put a paper towel on the suction side of the bag to catch the juices. This will make your vac packer last longer and less to clean.

[el diablo]

been using a cheaper food saver and have been contemplating getting a much nicer commercial grade type one. Are they worth the extra $?

[mbiewer]

one of the nicest gifts my sister ever got me was my seal a meal machine. its amazing.

 

I use the rolls, and not the bags. (Seems to make it last longer, and cheaper-like others have said)

double seal each end

Ive partially frozen juicier items to be able to seal the bags

 

My friend has expanded his camp cuisine by making things like spaghetti at home, bagging it, then just boiling the bag at camp and saving the pot of water

 

We started premaking meals for at home. Can search the internet and find a variety of "freezer meals". We would spend one sunday a month and prep food and then freeze them in the seal a meal machine. The one day a month sucks, but then during the week its like 20 minutes in the oven and dinner is ready. We would sub beef out for game etc. And an 8x8 tray fits snugly inside the large roll "like it was made for it".

 

then the added benefits of meat sales or Costco runs. Recommend getting a digital kitchen scale. I wait for things like salmon to go on sale , or bulk burger from Costco and then just portion it out into 1# packs. Watch for frys

 

and as far as camping goes:

can preseason and scramble eggs, then freeze and seal them. if you do it right the frozen packs stack better in coolers, and theres not dirty Tupperware at camp or coming back to. (we like carnitas, I make 5 pound roast and then make 5 meals out of them... for example) Can pre season and make burger patties, and seal packages of them.

 

just gotta use your imagination really